Recommendations Emphasize High Quality, Person-Centered Care in Long-Term and Community-Based

OMAHA, January 19, 2018 – Yesterday, the Alzheimer’s Association released new dementia care practice recommendations aimed at helping nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and other long-term care and community care providers deliver optimal quality, person-centered care for those living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The recommendations are posted online today and will be published as a supplement to the February issue of The Gerontologist.

The Alzheimer’s Association 2018 Dementia Care Practice Recommendations outline 56 recommendations across 10 content areas, grounded in the fundamentals of person-centered care. They were developed by 27 dementia care experts convened by the Alzheimer’s Association and are based on a comprehensive review of current evidence, best practice, and expert opinion.

The recommendations seek to better define quality care across all care settings, and throughout the disease course. They are intended for professional care providers who work with individuals living with dementia and their families in long-term and community-based care settings.

“Since its inception, the Alzheimer’s Association has been a leader in outlining principles and practices of quality care for individuals living with dementia,” said Sam Fazio, Ph.D., lead author and Director of Quality Care and Psychosocial Research, Alzheimer’s Association. “These recommendations reflect the most current research and best practices to help ensure high-quality, person-centered care for people living with Alzheimer’s in long-term and community-based settings.”

It is estimated that nearly 60 percent of older adults with Alzheimer’s or other dementias reside in the community (outside a hospital or clinical setting). About 25 percent of these individuals live alone, but the remainder receives care from family members, unpaid caregivers, and community-based and residential care providers. By age 80, 75 percent of people with Alzheimer’s dementia are admitted to a nursing home. The new recommendations are aimed at guiding care in these settings.

In addition to updating and enhancing previous recommendations in areas familiar to the dementia care community, the recommendations break important new ground. Most notably, the recommendations offer guidance to community-based and residential care providers on detection and diagnosis and ongoing medical management — topic areas typically reserved for clinicians. Recommendations in these two areas are written specifically for non-physician care providers and address what these providers can do to help with these important aspects of holistic, person-centered dementia care.

“Detection and diagnosis, and medical management are critical, vital areas of care. While clinicians must continue to take a lead role in these areas, there are important contributions dementia care providers can make to improve outcomes in these areas,” Fazio said. “Our recommendations outline appropriate actions dementia care providers can make to complement and enhance the work clinicians are doing. Having both groups focus on these critical areas will result in better care for people struggling with this disease.”

Other areas covered by the recommendations include:

Fundamentals of person-centered care

Assessment and care planning

Information, education and support

Ongoing care for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

Support of activities in daily living

Staffing

Supportive and therapeutic environments

The 56 recommendations are detailed in 10 area-specific articles published in the February supplement. In addition to providing greater details about each recommendation, the articles provide evidence and expert opinion supporting each recommendation. All 10 articles and an overview article summarizing all the recommendations appear online for the first time yesterday.

The Alzheimer’s Association will share the recommendations with policymakers and the dementia care community formally during a Capitol Hill event on February 14 with special guest remarks by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). Dementia care experts who developed the recommendations will provide deeper context and explanation behind the new recommendations.

There are an estimated 5.5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease today. It is the sixth-leading cause of death, and the only disease among the top 10 causes of death that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s is projected to reach nearly 14 million by 2050, unless more effective treatments are advanced. For more information on the recommendations, visit alz.org/practicerecommendations.

Alzheimer’s Association®

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. For more information, visit alz.org.

The Alzheimer’s Association Nebraska Chapter serves all 93 counties in Nebraska. In addition to offering free education and support services, the Chapter also raises money for local and national research efforts through the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and The Longest Day events. Staff and volunteers also work together to encourage state legislators to make Alzheimer’s disease a priority in the state by increasing funding for the disease.